Apricot pest (forum)

Craig starts with ...
Hi,
I have a worm like bug on my backyard apricot tree. They are eating the leaves but not creating a hole in the leaf, just brown spots.. Half the tree is infested but the other half looks ok.

The worm is black and about 3cm long. It's head is larger than the body. So, it looks like a very short earth worm with a bulbous head at one end.

I have photos but because I'm using an iPad, the photo uploader is not working for this site.

Just wondering what they are called and if I can spray them with something from the hardware store.

Craig.

Time: 4th December 2011 9:15pm

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About the Author Craig
Canberra
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Nick says...
Gday Craig, it sounds a lot like pear and cherry slug to me. It attacks stone fruits (never had them on my apricot though), skeletonising the leaves. They can apparently be controlled by throwing wood ash over them, which dries them out, but I prefer using pyrethrum :)
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 4th December 2011 9:21pm

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About the Author Nick T
Altona, VIC
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Craig says...
That's them alright!
They are just everywhere. it's going to take buckets of stuff to kill them.
Will pesticide poison the fruit?

Thanks Nick.

Time: 4th December 2011 9:34pm

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About the Author Craig
Canberra
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Nick says...
If you use pyrethrum it should be alright, they die on contact and the pesticide which is pretty safe already wears off after a day or so (its great fun watching them writhe in pain hehe).

Time: 4th December 2011 9:36pm

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About the Author Nick T
Altona, VIC
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Craig says...
Great. I will get the stuff tomorrow.
Now I just have to work out the best time to pick the fruit. They look good but are still very hard.

The only other trees I have are a young granny smith which fruited for the first time last year and a mandarin. Citrus don't do very well here as it hasn't grown at all for three years.

Time: 4th December 2011 10:19pm

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About the Author Craig
Canberra
#UserID: 6208
Posts: 3
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